According to the announcements published by the State Assets Management Agency on August 7 this year, Expression of Interest stage of the privatization process of the state shares in the authorized capital of "Avtokomponent" LLC and “Avto Climat Control” LLC (hereinafter - the "Assets") has launched.

As reported previously, “Portfolio Investments” (hereinafter - "Consultant") was attracted as a privatization consultant to carry out the process of privatization of these state assets on the basis of the best international experience.

As part of this stage, complex marketing activities were carried out by Consultant, as well as sending investment teasers to potential investors. As a result, Consultant has received Expressions of Interest from 2 local investors for "Avtokomponent" LLC and from 3 local and international investors for “Avto Climat Control” LLC by October 30, 2024.

All applications received by the Consultant were reviewed for compliance with the following previously announced criteria:

• Sufficient financial resources to acquire the state shares.
• Neither the Applicant (and in the case of a Consortium, any of the Consortium Members) nor its shareholders/participants shall be a state-owned company or a company with a state share in equity capital;
• Absence of any judicial, administrative, arbitration or other proceedings that could result in a ban on participation in the privatization process and a positive business reputation;
• Compliance with the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 660-II “On combating the legalization of proceeds from criminal activity, the financing of terrorism and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction”,
• Neither the Applicant (nor, in the case of the Consortium, any of the Consortium Members) shall be/are listed on the public sanctions lists of the European Union and the United States, as well as any of the major international development banks (the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Asian Development Bank), or, as of the date of submission of the Application, shall be/are a sanctioned person/s or the subject/s of any proceedings or investigation by the above-mentioned sanctions authorities. Also, neither the Applicant (and in the case of the Consortium, any of the Consortium Members) nor any of its/their Associated Persons shall be involved in any way in any activity (directly or through any subsidiary) that is contrary to the sanctions regime of the above-mentioned institutions and states, and neither the Applicant (and in the case of the Consortium, any of the Consortium Members) nor any of its/their Associated Persons shall have as main financiers or creditors banks or financial institutions that are sanctioned persons or persons controlled by or owned by sanctioned persons.

As a result of the analysis of the received applications by the Consultant, all applicants were found to be fully compliant with the above criteria.

In addition, all applicants will receive individual Process letters from the Consultant with detailed descriptions of the next stage of the privatization process.

Information about the next stage of the process:

After signing the Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA), participants will be given access to a Virtual Data Room (VDR) containing detailed financial, legal and operational information on the Asset, including an analytical report prepared by the Consultant for the preparation of their Binding Offers (BO).

Binding Offers (BO) are accepted by Consultant until 18:00 (Tashkent time) November 20, 2024.

Moreover, before this deadline, the applicants are required to transfer not less than 1% of the amount of the proposed Binding Offer as a guarantee payment to the relevant account of JSC “Organization of Electronic Online Auctions” through their personal account in the electronic trading platform “E-auksion”. The personal account and payment account indicators opened on the electronic trading platform “E-auksion” will be sent to the participants by the Consultant through individual letters (Process letter) regarding the sales process.

At the same time, this guarantee payment is returned to the personal account of the applicant in case the applicant is not declared the winner, and in case of success - it is considered as part of the redemption payment.

The State Assets Agency expresses gratitude to all participants who have shown interest in the privatization process and submitted applications, and also expresses confidence in further constructive cooperation with applicants who have successfully passed the “Expression of Interest” stage.

DISCLAIMER

The State Assets Management Agency reserves the right to change the sequence of the privatization process or refuse to sell to any potential buyer(s) or negotiate with them at any time without explanation.

This announcement, or any part of its content, should not be taken as a form of obligation on the part of the State Assets Management Agency, “Portfolio Investments” in relation to the Asset sale, as one might assume in connection with the publication of this announcement. The State Assets Management Agency and “Portfolio Investments” reserves the right, in its sole discretion, at any time and in any respect, without assuming joint or individual responsibility:

(i) Change the deadline for submission of applications;

(ii) Follow different procedures with respect to different stakeholders and/or negotiate with one or more potential buyers within the schedule and procedure established jointly by the State Assets Management Agency and “Portfolio Investments”, to the exclusion of any other potential buyer(s) without prior notice;

(iii) Stop the sale process for any reason;

(iv) Stop all discussions and negotiations with any potential buyer(s) in relation to the Transaction at any time and without explanation.